If you have foreign workers who you would like to sponsor for a temporary immigrant Visa, H-1B CAP may be the right solution for your business immigration needs. The H-1B CAP season occurs once a year, and during that short annual window, employers are able to enter qualifying employees into a lottery which may then allow the employer to sponsor selected employees for a nonimmigrant-based Visa.
USCIS announced today that the initial registration of H-1B Cap will open at noon (ET) on March 9th and run through noon (ET) on March 25th. The H-1B CAP registration system will utilize a random selection process, selecting candidates who may then apply for H-1B Cap Visas. USCIS will conduct CAP selection by March 31, 2021, and employers may submit petitions for selected registrations starting April 1, 2021. The H-1B Visa petition filing period will close no earlier than June 30, 2021.
What is an H-1B Visa?
The H-1B Visa allows the employee to stay for an initial period of three years, after which a renewal or extension may be applied for an additional three years. The H-1B CAP Visa is available to designated individuals working in a specialty occupation. To satisfy this requirement the following criteria must be met. First, a specialty occupation requires that the position require at least a bachelor’s degree in a specific or related field (or its equivalent). Secondly, the foreign national hoping to be sponsored must have at least a bachelor’s degree in that specific or related field (or its equivalent) as outlined by the position. In the scenario where an individual’s credentials may not squarely qualify, (i.e. a degree from another country or not a four-year bachelor degree), we can organize an education evaluation to verify that through their education and experience the individual has the
equivalent of a bachelor’s degree. Lastly, the salary for the position must meet minimum prevailing wage requirements.
If you would like to register your employees for the H-1B CAP lottery, please reach out to us at the contact information below. We can review your candidate list and let you know if your employee qualifies for an H-1B Visa. You may register as many employees in the H-1B lottery as you like. The fee for registration is $10 per employee. If that employee is then picked for an H-1B Visa through the lottery, we would then prepare a petition on your behalf and submit it to USCIS for adjudication. If approved, the H-1B Visa would allow your employee and initial three years of work status, beginning as early as October 1, 2021.
